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Living Life by Design
We are all designed as unique, original, and gifted human beings created in God’s image—as one of a kind. When you see yourself on those terms, that you are a work of art, you begin to understand you are qualified to reach your destiny in life. No one else can fulfill and achieve your destinies better than you can. In a world filled with 7,942,645,086 people, if we really understood how special each and every one of us is, we would celebrate ourselves and others with so much more intention, purpose, and even joy.
Life isn’t easy. I am not negating that fact, but living a full life requires absolutely everything you’ve got—determination, passion, love, commitment, desire, and an unbridled tenacity to finish what you started. I included love as one of the key ingredients as, over time, I have learned that even if you have everything else, if you don’t have a love for yourself and others, you don’t have much.
Photo by Romona Robbins
Curiosity, problem-solving, altruism, hope, and faith have been part of my DNA since childhood. I did not make myself like this; it’s just who I am. Along the road toward my Damascus, through maturing and naturally evolving, I have grown a deeper faith with each passing year that good things are always around the corner. At times, I’ve felt like my life was so surreal I was watching it as if it were a movie. I’ve had endless moments that I am so grateful to have experienced with others along the journey—it’s been filled with so much joy, even in times when there was so much sadness. That, too, is part of life. If I didn’t choose to follow my heart and my dreams, I would have missed out on so much. It has taken much courage and faith to walk on the water put before me, and I thank God that he equipped me with courage. I would never have accomplished anything without God as my constant companion, the author and finisher of my faith.
What does all this have to do with home, design, and living our best life? It’s to know that beauty in our surroundings is lovely, but we know that without happiness, friends, family, and community, there would be an emptiness in place of a rich life. So in this issue, we celebrate life by design—to live and walk out our own stories with a purpose and resolve to become all that we were made to be in this world.
It’s time for us to write our next chapter in our individual stories of life and seize this moment in time with gusto and excitement.
To Your Story!
—Lisa Marie
CEO/Editor-in-Chief
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![Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Crustless Quiche
By Sonja & Alex Overhiser, founders of A Couple Cooks | Serves 6–8
This crustless quiche is quite the heavy lifter; it works just as well at big family brunches as for make-ahead weekday breakfasts. The savory egg custard is baked without the traditional pastry shell, making it much simpler to whip up. Cottage cheese adds a boost of protein, and the custard is packed with nutrient-dense spinach.
Ingredients
10 oz [280 g] frozen spinach, thawed
6 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 tablespoons roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning or dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons feta cheese crumbles
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch round pie dish.
2. Use your hands to squeeze out as much excess liquid as you can from the thawed spinach, then break it into small pieces.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Stir in the spinach, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, 4 tablespoons of the sun-dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the top with the remaining sun-dried tomatoes and the feta cheese crumbles.
5. Bake the quiche until set in the center and golden around the edges, 28 to 30 minutes. Let rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting into pieces and serving.
Tips
Leftover quiche keeps well, and you can eat leftovers cold, at room temperature, or warm. Try it on a sandwich; it’s especially good on bread with Dijon dill spread.
If possible, look for bagged frozen spinach rather than boxed. It thaws easily in a colander under warm water.
Storage
Leftovers will keep, refrigerated, for up to 5 days.
See more festive recipes in VIE: www.viemagazine.com/article/the-holiday-table
Excerpted from A Couple Cooks: 100 Recipes to Cook Together by Sonja and Alex Overhiser © 2024. Published by Chronicle Books. Photography © Shelly Westerhausen Worcel.](https://viemagazine.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
